Portman, Manchin make case for bipartisanship in divided Congress
The Ohio Capital Journal highlighted a panel discussion on bipartisanship in a divided Congress hosted by the University of Cincinnati's Portman Center for Policy Solutions.
UC played host to former U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin III, I-W.V., to discuss ways to build consensus in a sharply divided Congress.
The center offers a fellowship program named in Portman’s honor to teach students interested in policy to pursue consensus central to Portman’s legislative career, the Ohio Capital Journal reported.
“I meet with them regularly and it’s just been great for thinking about the future of our country to be with some young people who are really bright and accomplished and committed to the mission,” Portman told the Ohio Capital Journal.
Portman and Manchin highlighted some bipartisan accomplishments of the 117th Congress on which they served between 2021-23, including legislation such as the Infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Electoral Count Reform Act passed after the Jan. 6 riot.
Even this year’s sharply divided Congress has been able to find some common ground. The House of Representatives this year passed bills to improve weather forecasting for wildfire conditions, cap orphaned and abandoned oil wells and pursue land use methods to improve carbon sequestration, among other bills.
“To pass meaningful legislation in a divided Congress, elected officials in the two parties must work together,” UC Associate Professor Andrew Lewis said.
Lewis is executive director of UC's Portman Center for Policy Solutions.
“Bipartisanship has become increasingly challenging, but Sen. Manchin and Sen. Portman have been leaders in crafting common ground legislation and getting it enacted,” Lewis said.
Read the Ohio Capital Journal story.
Featured image at top: UC's Portman Center for Policy Solutions hosted a panel discussion on the value of bipartisanship in Congress. Photo/Adam Michael Szuscik/Unsplash
Latest UC News
- It’s a mindset: Meet the visionaries redefining innovation at 1819Innovation is being redefined by enterprising individuals at UC’s 1819 Innovation Hub. Meet the forward thinkers crafting the future of innovation from the heart of Cincinnati.
- UC’s spring Visiting Writers Series promises robust, diverse line-upLovers of literature, poetry and the written word can look forward to a rich series of visiting writer presentations, offered through UC’s College of Arts and Sciences department of English, coming this spring.
- UC students well represented in this year’s Inno Under 25 classEntrepreneurialism runs through the veins of University of Cincinnati students, as confirmed by the school’s strong representation in this year’s Inno Under 25 class.
- UC professor Ephraim Gutmark elected to National Academy of InventorsEphraim Gutmark, distinguished professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati, was elected to the 2024 class of the prestigious National Academy of Inventors.
- UC Law professors recognized for scholarly excellenceUniversity of Cincinnati College of Law professors Stephanie McMahon and Andrew Mamo were recently recognized for their scholarly contributions.
- ADAAPT: Growing Student IdeasSteven Doehler, an industrial design professor at the University of Cincinnati’s College of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning (DAAP), says he prioritizes the entrepreneurial aspect of a student's design product – which led him to create HomeGrown Studio.
